Photo by Peter K
What do you think about most? It’s likely to be about yourself. How you were, how you are, how you will be, what people think about you, and so on.

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That is why the world is like it is: full of suffering. Just open the newspaper and you will see suffering all over the world. You can also find suffering right next door. I am sure you too know friends and family members who are going through hard times. And maybe you yourself are suffering.

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I want to share with you a wonderful way of changing our self-centred way of being. It’s a meditation that heals and opens. It’s from an ancient Buddhist text, called the Metta Sutra. Metta - or loving-kindness - is an ancient form of Buddhist meditation.

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In the Metta Sutra it says:

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Cherish all living beings;
Radiate kindness over the entire world;
Spreading upwards to the skies,
And downward to the depths;
Outward and unbounded,
Free from hatred and ill-will.
Whether standing or walking, seated or lying down,
One should sustain this recollection.

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What a wonderful aspiration! Aspirations are like lofty mountains that we look up to. We may never make it to the summit but the towering peak defines the path we travel. I think if you and I - and everyone else on the planet - were to live by this loving-kindness practice, the world would be a better place.

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Well, we can’t be responsible for the way others live their lives. But we can determine how we live. To this end I want to show you a simple way to put this grand aspiration into practice.

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The root of the word ‘aspiration’ is the Latin word ‘aspirare’, to ‘breathe upon’. The breath is life-giving. When we breathe in, we take in the energy of the whole world. When we breathe out, we connect with all beings. Mindful breathing is a natural meditation technique that many spiritual traditions include.

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The particular kindness meditation I want to suggest to you today - which I call Boundless Kindness - has the breath at its centre. The central practice is to radiate kindness in all directions and at all times. You can approach this practice by following the seven steps below:

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1. Choose a time when you are undisturbed
2. Sit upright and silent
3. Focus softly on your breath flowing in and out
4. Dedicate each breath to the wellbeing of all
5. Imagine your kindness flowing into the world with every out-breath.
6. Feel it flow from you in all directions
7. Notice kindness flow through your own body, softening it with each out-breath

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Read the rest of this entry »

Photo by welsh boy

Dance is a poem. Each movement is a word - Mata Hari

I love dancing. When I was 3 years old I suddenly appeared in the lounge at 11 o’clock at night - stark naked and completely silent. My parents told me that they watched open-mouthed as I began to dance to a complete Beethoven symphony they were listening to. After 30 minutes of dancing, I went back to bed without speaking a single word - so my mother told me. Some years ago, when my mother was slipping into dementia, I told her that I was going to tango classes and was surprised to feel so at home.

She looked at me and said, “Oh, you silly mutt- how you could forget how much you love dancing?”

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These days, dance has come back into my life. David, my partner, is a tango teacher and I am his assistant and dance partner. Whenever there is music to dance to, David and I get up and dance -whether it’s the samba in steamy Rio de Janeiro, or the tango in Buenos Aires . I know that some people find it strange that a Zen master should also be passionate about dancing. As if Zen should be severe and otherworldly! In the West we imagine that sensuality and spirituality are at opposite ends of a spectrum.

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There is a close link between dancing and spirituality. I think that one dance in particular is closely aligned to Zen. That’s Argentine tango. To dance the tango you have to abide in mindfulness. The moment a tango dancer falls out of mindfulness into thinking, the connection to the dance and to one’s partner is broken. It’s like falling out of heaven with a thud! There is an interesting book by Chan Park, called Tango Zen. In it he traces the connection between tango and Zen. You can find his website and new blog here.

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When we dance we tap into deeper patterns of the universe and link into life’s vital energy. That is why dance is one of the ancient ways of connection with the sacred and dance forms part of ritual for many spiritual traditions.

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Here are seven ways dancing enhances spirit and body:

1. Dancing fosters intimacy with self and other

When we dance with someone, we open to another person. It’s as if this hard shell that we think of as ‘I’ becomes permeable. Not only does dancing help us connect with others, it also helps us re-connect with ourselves.

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Dancing gets us in touch with who we are. We can so easily to lose touch with aspects of ourselves. When you look back, were you maybe more daring, more outrageous, funny, more sensuous, or more playful in the past? You can recover those submerged parts by dancing. I’ve definitely recovered my innate playfulness and sensuality through dancing! Check out a short clip of a tango performance by David and myself on YouTube:

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2. Dancing promotes health

***Dancing encourages and improves the overall health and fitness of the body. Dancing

• Strengthens bones and muscles without hurting your joints;

• Tones your entire body;

• Improves your posture and balance;

• Increases your stamina and flexibility;

• Reduces stress and tension;

• Wards off illnesses like diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, osteoporosis, and depression. Read the rest of this entry »

Photo by artct45
Research has shown that our brain changes if we practise meditation. These changes trigger a more positive frame of mind, and may even slow the ageing process.In his book Destructive Emotions, Daniel Goleman describes a very interesting collaboration between Professor Richard Davidson, a leading brain science, and an experienced Tibetan Buddhist meditator who used the pseudonym ‘Lama Oeser’. The Lama was asked to practise certain kinds of meditation, such as one-pointedness of mind and a meditation on compassion. During each of these meditation exercises, researchers looked to see whether there were any changes in the fMRI (Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging).

I’m not a scientist, but this is what I understand about fMRIs: The images can show up activity in particular areas of the brain. Daniel Goleman says:

The EEG analysis bore particularly rich fruit in the comparison between Oeser at rest, and while meditating on compassion.

The results showed an increase in neural activity in an area that Davidson’s previous research had pinpointed as home for positive emotions, such as feelings of happiness, enthusiasm, joy, high energy and alertness.Goleman continues:

The very act of concern for others’ well-being creates a greater state of well-being within oneself

The finding lends scientific support to an observation often made by the Dalai Lama: that the person doing a meditation on compassion for all beings is the immediate beneficiary.

The research that Davidson did with Lama Oeser and others has shown that meditation can in fact change the structure of the brain.Reseach at the Harvard Medical school has also yielded some interesting results. Results show some unexpected changes in brain structure through meditation. Sara Lazar, psychologist and leader of the study says: Read the rest of this entry »